Ethics Policy
The Texas National Security Review expects all authors to comply with the ethical obligations of their discipline. We primarily employ standards outlined in APSA’s Guide to Professional Ethics in Political Science and Principles and Guidance for Human Subjects Research (2020) as well as the comprehensive guidelines provided by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
For studies that constitute human subjects research (i.e., involve living individuals from whom data was obtained by intervention or interaction or about whom identifiable private information was collected), the submitting author must:
- Declare whether the research has received IRB (or equivalent institutional body) approval or exemption. (As appropriate, this information should be redacted during peer review, but must be provided in full upon conditional acceptance of a manuscript.)
- Discuss in the text or an appendix, as appropriate, the ethics of the human subjects research conducted, including (but not necessarily limited to) consent, deception, confidentiality, potential harm, and compensation.
Authors whose institutions do not have an IRB (or equivalent institutional body) should:
- In an appendix intended for circulation to reviewers, indicate the absence of such an institutional body, and describe in detail their research practices with respect to human subjects and any other ethical obligations.
- Provide the editorial team at the Texas National Security Review with official documentation substantiating the absence of such an institutional body at the time of submission.
Upon conditional acceptance for publication in the Texas National Security Review, authors of studies involving human subjects should expect to provide evidence of IRB (or equivalent institutional body) approval or exemption, and other relevant documentation as requested.
Policy on Authorship and Contributorship
Authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others, that this has been appropriately cited or quoted and permission has been obtained where necessary.
Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have influenced the reported work and that give the work appropriate context within the larger scholarly record. Information obtained privately, as in conversation, correspondence, or discussion with third parties, must not be used or reported without explicit, written permission from the source.
Plagiarism takes many forms, from ‘passing off’ another’s paper as the author’s own paper, to copying or paraphrasing substantial parts of another’s paper (without attribution), to claiming results from research conducted by others. Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical behavior and is unacceptable.
When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their own published work, it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper if deemed necessary by the editor. If the editor or the publisher learn from a third party that a published work contains an error, it is the obligation of the author to cooperate with the editor, including providing evidence to the editor where requested.
Allegations of Research Misconduct
TNSR encourages scholarly debate and recognizes that with many topics there can be a wide range of valid professional opinions that fall within the bounds of scholarly disagreement. Post-publication discourse is essential to scholarly rigor and helps advance the science and understanding of the entire community.
Any complaints of research errors, falsification, or fabrication will be taken seriously by the editors of the journal. Upon notification of any potential misconduct, the editors will consult with the author, reviewers, and other members of the editorial team or editorial board to determine if the complaint rises to the level of academic misconduct. The Editor-in-Chief retains the right and responsibility to correct or retract articles that have been found in violation of the research misconduct policy.
Conflicts of Interest
TNSR strives to maintain the highest standards for objectivity and integrity in the publication of scholarly literature. Transparency is of utmost importance in determining whether a conflict of interest exists in any manuscripts submitted to TNSR. Anything, real or perceived, that if undeclared but discovered later would make a reasonable reader feel misled or deceived meets TNSR’s definition of a conflict of interest.
All authors, reviewers, and editors are required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest before commencing work on any portion of the journal, or as soon as reasonably possible once a conflict of interest is discovered. The TNSR editorial team will adjudicate any instances of conflict of interest in accordance with COPE guidelines to ensure the journal upholds the highest standards of objectivity and integrity.
If during peer review, reviewers suspect undeclared author conflicts of interest, they must inform the editor immediately. The editorial team will evaluate the conflict of interest in accordance with COPE guidance to determine whether review can continue. If readers of published articles report possible undisclosed author conflicts of interest, the journal will follow relevant COPE guidance and issue a correction if appropriate, or retraction.
Complaints and Appeals
TNSR takes complaints of published scholarship seriously and will take appropriate action. Any complaints alleging plagiarism, research misconduct, conflict of interest, or any other ethical breaches will be forwarded to the editorial team for immediate action. The editorial team, under direct guidance of the Editor-in-Chief, will investigate all complaints to determine if any ethical breaches or misconduct has occurred. The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for issuing any corrections or retractions for works published by TNSR. The editorial team will respond to any complainants with results of the investigation and concrete steps taken to correct ethical breaches if any are found.
AI Policy
University and academic norms are evolving rapidly in the area of artificial intelligence (AI), and we may adapt or modify policies in accordance with evolving standards. The use of AI, including but not limited to software tools, large language models, and chatbots, is discouraged in submissions to the Texas National Security Review. If authors use generative AI or AI-assisted technologies in their writing process, we recommend that these technologies only be used to improve readability and language of the work and not to replace key authoring tasks such as producing scientific, pedagogic, or analytic insights, drawing conclusions, or providing recommendations. Applying the technology should be done with human oversight and control and all work should be reviewed and edited carefully, as AI can generate authoritative-sounding output that can be incorrect, incomplete, or biased. Authors are fully responsible for the content of submitted manuscripts, including any portion produced by AI software or tools, and are liable for any breach of academic or professional ethics.
Authors who use AI in any capacity to write their manuscript, produce images or graphic elements, or to collect or analyze data, are expected to be open and transparent in disclosing what AI software was used, how, and for which parts of the manuscript, and to answer further questions if requested. Authors shall disclose in their manuscript the use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies and a statement will appear in the published work. Declaring the use of these technologies supports transparency and trust between authors, readers, reviewers, editors, and contributors and facilitates compliance with the terms of use of the relevant tool or technology.
Authors should not list generative AI and AI-assisted technologies as an author or co-author, nor cite AI as an author. AI cannot be listed as an author of a paper, and as a non-legal entity, it cannot be responsible for the submitted work, nor can it assert the presence or absence of conflicts of interest, copyright, and license agreements. Authorship implies responsibilities and tasks that can only be attributed to and performed by humans. Each author is accountable for ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved and authorship requires the ability to approve the final version of the work and agree to its submission. Authors are also responsible for ensuring that the work is original, that the stated authors qualify for authorship, and the work does not infringe third party rights, and should familiarize themselves with TNSR’s ethics policy before they submit.